A band simulator, but all girl-heavy!

The world was re-illuminated by these words.

“I really enjoy Yili’s guitar playing and his music, and I hope everyone can realize the best of Yili.”

Aoi removed Pochi's hand from her cheek and simply smiled as she held it in her palm, "I'll ask you again, Ichiri, do you believe me?"

"……I believe!"

Even though the fear caused by the huge crowds of people had not yet subsided, Pochi answered this question with the most determined voice in his life.

"Then please believe in yourself, because without making any promises or commitments, my hero will win flowers and victory for me."

Aoi's eyes were so charming at this moment that they were almost transparent. "Let's enjoy today's performance together?"

It's incredible.

Kita is also a girl full of light and sunshine, but every time, little Pochi feels that the light is so dazzling that it can melt her.

Although Aoi is as dazzling as Kita, she does not dazzle little Pochi, who thinks he is dark. Instead, she is warm enough to make him drowsy, like a childhood cradle, a song sung by her mother, or the warm sunshine during a nap.

She felt a flame brewing in her heart, a flame that was constantly expanding, burning, and emitting heat, gradually turning the original fear and tension into a constant source of motivation and excitement.

"Hand over, hand over, hand over to me!!"

Little Pochi broke free from Aoi's hand and jumped up. He pulled out a pair of funny five-pointed star-shaped party glasses from somewhere and put them on his face, shouting excitedly, "Today, I will make the whole Jizo-dori excited!!!"

"T-suddenly, I turned into a character from some funny anime..."

Aoi couldn't help but chuckle and said, "It seems that Yili's energy is full. Then let's go back and cheer everyone up."

66

Chapter 66 Aoi doesn’t belong to them.

A few petals were carried by the breeze and gently fell on the girl's snow-white hair.

She gently blinked her strange-colored eyes, and her slender legs, which were lifted up by the high chair and suspended in the air, swayed casually in the air. She looked at the huge crowds of people in the distance with boredom and listened to the noisy voices.

The silent air around her contrasted sharply with the noisy wall of sound, as if she was on an isolated island, so quiet and boring that she couldn't help but yawn, then jumped off the chair lightly.

"hungry."

The girl's slender and petite body casually walked to the side, but before she had taken a few steps, Li Xi, who had a serious expression on his face, grabbed her by the back of her collar and shouted helplessly, "Wait a minute! Little wild cat, the performance is about to start, you can't go anywhere now!"

"hungry."

Lenai didn't struggle, but just turned her head slightly and looked at Lixi with her gorgeous eyes blinking.

“Oh really!”

Li Xi sighed helplessly, walked behind him, took a few matcha cookies from the temporary small table and stuffed them into Lenai's hands, "Eat these, and you are not allowed to go anywhere until the live is over, understand?"

Lenai nodded, but there was a hint of a triumphant smile in her eyes, and then she sat back on the high chair obediently, chewing on a biscuit while swinging her little feet easily, like an elementary school kid attending a children's performance.

On the other hand, on Lixi's side, the atmosphere was almost the opposite.

Deng sat on a high chair with his feet resting on the crossbars of the chair legs, his head buried between his knees in a helpless baby-like posture, his arms wrapped around his legs, motionless as if hiding himself in a false protective shell.

Su Shi did not play with his mobile phone as usual, but sat quietly in a daze, his eyes drifting to the bustling crowd in the distance, to the peaceful blue sky in the spring, and to the cherry blossoms in the distance that would soon wither, without saying a word.

Only Aine was pacing back and forth. The only sound echoing between them besides Lenai chewing on cookies was her footsteps. Sometimes she would fiddle with her guitar to see if there was any wrong tuning, and sometimes she would check to see if the cheap effects pedal she had just bought was broken.

The atmosphere was terrible to the extreme, completely different from when Crychic was about to sing Kasuga Shadow.

They have been practicing hard these days, and the original shortcomings of the guitar part have been made up by Lenai's skills. Although Aine is still upset about being assigned to the rhythm guitar, at least she did not protest in action.

Li Xi won't make any big mistakes when playing the drums. Although Su Shi's playing is not as good as before, it is not a problem. Deng's singing is as powerful as that live performance, as if he is singing about his inner self.

There is no problem with their abilities, but the current atmosphere always gives people a completely unacceptable pressure.

Was it because there were too many people? Was it because the live was too stressful? Or was it because there was no Toyokawa Shoko to comfort everyone?

Or... because that person is not here.

Li Xi's eyes gradually dimmed a little, and his already gloomy expression became even more depressed.

Saotome Aoi, the person who almost helped Crychic get out of Xiangzi's shadow, at least in the dream. Her identity often changes in the dream, and her musical level also changes with each dream.

The first time she was just a decent violinist, but later in her dream she suddenly learned to write lyrics, and her level was quite good. Although she liked Deng's lyrics better, she had to admit that Aoi's lyrics were very good.

And, the most important thing.

She can do what Lixi can't do. She can make everyone stay in Crychic after Xiangzi left, and she can also make Deng change his mind without joining the C Group.

If she were sitting here right now, with us, what would she do? What would she say? Would we still be as depressed as we are now?

Li Xi suddenly felt a little disgusted with himself, disgusted with himself for comparing himself with Aoi, disgusted with himself for not being as skilled as Aoi and unable to accomplish the same things as Aoi.

"lamp……"

Li Xi gritted his teeth and looked at Deng who was slowly raising his head from between his knees. He looked at the anxiety and tension on Deng's face with a look of surprise. He opened his lips for a moment but didn't know what to say.

After a while, she took a deep breath as if unwilling to admit defeat and spoke softly to the lamp.

"...Today's live performance will definitely be fine. As long as I can stand on the stage and sing, it's enough."

Deng tilted his head, his amber eyes twinkling, and he softly replied, "Thank you..."

After hearing these words, Li Xi's expression relaxed a little, and a faint smile appeared on his face. He was about to say something else, but was suddenly interrupted by the pink-haired girl who came over.

"What about me? What about me? I just kept repeating 'There will be no problem playing, right?' several times!"

Aiyin stood aside with an unhappy look on her face and complained.

"Huh? You should ask yourself that. As long as you've practiced well, why would you worry about problems with your performance?"

Li Xi questioned.

"There's a question!"

Aine frowned, her words spoken in a heavy voice, “There are too many people today, aren’t there? It’s even more exaggerated than when I squeezed into the Sumida River Fireworks Festival last year… If I mess up and perform in front of so many people, I’ll be completely screwed!”

"The live show is about to start. Are you going to say these things now to add to the pressure?"

Li Xi asked back.

"So, I want you to say something to relieve the pressure!"

Aiyin glared at Li Xi with gritted teeth, then turned her head and gently tugged at the corner of Deng's clothes, "Deng! Su Shi-san! Let's go to the scene and take a look, okay? It's a good opportunity to see everyone's level in advance, so we can have a better idea of ​​the situation!"

"……Um."

Deng hesitated for a moment and then nodded slightly.

Seeing this, Li Xi didn't know what to say, so he just sighed and agreed. Finally, including Lenai, who was bored and strumming her guitar, the entire band walked together, leaving the lounge area set up by the organizers and heading towards the stage.

There were a lot of spectators, but the organizers built the temporary stage relatively high so that it would not be blocked by the people in front. Therefore, the simple stage with lighting racks and various equipment could be seen from a distance.

There were quite a few audiences gathered around, many of whom were attracted by the sound of the performance. They looked towards the stage with great interest and listened to the host warming up the audience.

The discussions and conversations of the people around them became clearer and clearer, as if countless heavy and oppressive waves were pressing towards them. Standing there, the tension they felt became even clearer, so clear that it gradually became tangible.

"The next band is a high school girls' band consisting of two sophomores and three freshmen! They're also one of the most unique bands performing today!"

The host was a mature older woman who seemed to work as a clerk and lighting technician at a nearby live house. She announced the next band's arrival in a youthful and energetic voice, "This band, surprisingly! It's a traditional rock band with a violinist, and they'll also be playing an original piece! Welcome to the closing band—"

As soon as he finished speaking, applause broke out all around.

But no one in the audience raised their hands to applaud. They were just speechless overwhelmed by the sudden sense of déjà vu, and their hearts instantly thought of someone.

Just when they changed their minds and decided to put this unrealistic speculation behind them, they saw the band members walking onto the stage.

It was a band composed of a group of high school girls with distinct personalities, including a sunny and cheerful guitar lead singer, a feminine and unique handsome bassist, a calm and lively gentle drummer, and a taciturn lead guitarist.

And the girl in a white ruffled shirt and a long blue pleated skirt, her beige curly hair shone brightly in the bright sunshine, the smile on her face was elegant and clear, her emerald green eyes were sparkling, she held a zither in her left hand and a bow in her right hand, looking like a beautiful musician at a noble ball.

It was just like the gentle night that held them together in their dreams.

Several accidental missed opportunities, several sightings that were hard to tell whether they were illusions or reality, were not as good as this moment, when she, like a ray of light, stood before him, on the stage.

Aoi really appeared in front of them.

But this time, Aoi doesn't belong to them.

"Hello everyone~ We are the Ending Band! I am the violinist of the Ending Band! My name is Saotome Aoi, and I am from Shimokitazawa High School. Please give me your guidance today~"

No longer belongs to them.

67

Chapter 67 There is only the smell of heartbreak in the wind.

Eh?

"Eh?"

The heart and the body cried out in pain.

Nagasaki Suyo was unable to realize what was happening in front of her eyes for a moment. It all seemed as unreal as a movie screen in front of her, and as real as a heavy hammer that hit her heart.

She had difficulty breathing, the sounds around her were fading away, the cheering and applauding audience seemed to be getting farther and farther away from her, as if the entire ground had turned into an invisible sea, swallowing her up suddenly. She was trapped deep within it, with only dark, oppressive water surrounding her.

In this world that was so silent that it was almost terrifying, she could only see Aoi, the only colorful figure on the stage in front of her, holding a violin and standing next to the two guitarists, with a smile so bright that it almost glowed.

Aoi's voice, low and muffled, reached her ears through the heavy water.

The memories in the dream, the beautiful pictures of the two bands in the dream also turned into a glass-framed photo frame at this moment, which was pushed off the table by an invisible force and smashed to pieces on the ground.

When she picked up the photo frame, she found that everyone in it was smiling, only Aoi's figure and smile were full of cracks, as if she was cut off from their world.

"This band is really interesting! I heard that the band name is a pun specially thought up by the seniors, and Yamada-senpai is even very proud of it... By the way, is it really okay to let the violinist be the MC?"

The smile on Aoi's face was so bright and dazzling. While interacting with the band members to warm up the audience, she also comforted everyone's nervous mood, making the atmosphere of the performance harmonious, peaceful and natural.

Full of light and heat.

Is this a dream?

Everything in the dream was real, right? The Aoi who had held her hand more than once and led her to a bright future was real, right?

That pajama party, that night when I cried in her arms, those trivial daily moments, that trip to the hot springs at the foot of Mount Fuji...

Then everything is real, right?

What she saw at this moment was just a nightmare, an extremely real nightmare, just like the dreams she had about Aoi before, the only difference was that she was no longer watching all this as a bystander, but had become a participant.

There is no doubt that this dream was terrible, because Aoi did not join Crychic, did not find them to form a new band, and had no contact with any of them. Instead, she joined another completely unfamiliar band, smiled at those strange children in that band, and played music with them.

One of the most heartbreaking scripts mentioned earlier has arrived.

She has felt Kui's smile, Kui's warmth, and Kui's beauty. She can no longer live without Kui, just like flowers cannot live without sunshine and water, and birds cannot live without the sky and wind.

They met in a dream and held each other's hands in the dream, but in reality, she wanted to call out Aoi's name, but Aoi passed her by, surrounded by strangers with equally bright smiles.

This is a dream...

This can only be a dream—

"Then~ please listen! "Hikaru Nako"!!"

Something in my heart shattered along with the fantasy at this moment.

It fell to the ground lightly, crisply, without any warning or room for maneuver, sparkling and shining, but shattered, reflecting only fragmented memories of the past, which could not be put back together even with glue.

The moment the familiar song title sounded, the moment the music started, Su Shi realized that this was not a dream.

The song originally started with the prelude of Xiangzi's keyboard, and then turned into the graceful and ethereal violin solo, just like a girl running in the sunshine, holding the hands of her companions and running towards the light, and all the instruments followed in an instant.

The arrangement is different, the instrument composition is different, and the people playing the instruments are also different.

The red-haired guitar lead singer's voice is completely different from the timbre of the lamp. It is as powerful as her image, as if a flame is burning.

Aoi's violin became more active, more elegant, and more prominent. She seemed to be smiling, plucking the strings with an elegant demeanor. From time to time, she smiled at her teammates around her, and often faced the audience, playfully winking her right eye at all the listeners who met her gaze.

It sounds so familiar, yet feels so strange.

Gradually, Su Shi felt his vision becoming blurred, as if he was looking at the world through rain-soaked glass. The entire stage was hazy, and only Aoi's figure turned into a spot of light.

She blinked in confusion at this moment, and only realized that she was crying when a wet yet warm drop of water slid down her cheek.

She opened her eyes wide in confusion and tried to wipe her eyes with her hand, but there was no way to stop the tears from flowing out.

My chest felt heavy and stuffy, as if someone had taken away something important, leaving only an empty gap. There was nothing left there, and of course I couldn't feel any severe pain. All that was left was a sense of loss and sadness.

“…Ah…wu…wu,”